ROCK ART OF THE OREGON TERRITORY

PACIFIC COAST AREA

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The Pacific coast area forms the western boundary. There are relatively few rock art sites in this area compared to the others. This may be due to several reasons. In the past during periods of advanced glaciation, sea level was much lower than it is at present. Therefore, if as some believe, humans migrated down the coast from Asia during that period, evidence of their passing would now be below sea level. Since the coast is quite prone to rapid erosion, rocks upon which glyphs may have been created have tumbled into the sea. Due to the abundant rainfall on the coast, all kinds of vegetation thrive and form a thick layer that may obscure rock art. Due to the difficulty of physically moving across the landscape, the area is less well surveyed than others. Contrastingly, on the Canadian Pacific coast many rock art sites have been discovered, so it may be that sites still await revelation.

KLAMATH RIVER AREA

Between the Great Basin area and the the Columbia River drainage area is the Klamath River drainage in south central Oregon. This river flows generally south and westward until it flows into the Pacific in northern California. Native Americans in this part of the territory still revere rock art, consequently images for rock art in that part of the territory are rare. Polychromatic pictographs predominate.

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